When the World Ends
by aerforia
Summary: Slightly AU; Allen, the 14th Noah, has been working undercover for the Earl due to his Innocence.  When the Earl decides to end it all, Allen has no choice but to betray those he had gotten close to in the Order, especially Lenalee, who is taken prisoner.
1. Betrayal

_Author's Note: I've edited the first chapter due to a lovely reviewer's advice (thanks Howlingwolf94!) by fleshing out what happened beforehand! Hopefully this is a little better._

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><p>"Hey, Yu! Catch!" Lavi cackled as he lobbed a slice of lasagna at the back of the dark-haired Exorcist's head. Needless to say, Kanda was not amused as he whipped around and cleaved the delicious projectile in half. Lenalee could have sworn the anger emanating from his eyes was palpable. Lavi gave a little "Eep!" and dove behind one of the overturned tables. "Don't be too mad, Yu! Everyone's doing it!"<p>

It was true. A food war had broken out in the mess hall after Miranda tripped over a chair and sent her dinner flying across the room, smacking a finder in the face. Over the course of three minutes, the people in the cafeteria had split into two teams, armed with an array of food. Lavi and Allen had instantly teamed up against Kanda, while Lenalee decided to side with the stoic man to keep it fair.

"Lavi, you're standing on my foot," Allen whined from behind the table. "Go find another hiding place!"

"If I leave, Yu is going to kill me! Did you see the look on his fa- stop pushing me!"

"I'll stop pushing once you give me some room."

"Okay, I'm off your foot. Now get your elbow out of my neck."

"I think I should be telling you to get your neck out of my elbow since you put it there."

"Well, it's not like there's any room in- I said stop shoving!"

"And I told you to never call me 'Yu'," a dark voice suddenly spoke. The squabbling pair slowly looked up. It was a terrifying sight. It was Kanda. He was standing over them holding a pot of spaghetti and wearing _a smile_.

"You were right, Lavi," he said. "Everyone is doing it." With that, he overturned the steaming pot over the duo and returned to the other side, where Lenalee was doubled over in laughter while watching Allen and Lavi squawk and frantically scramble over each other to escape the wrath of hot pasta. Catching her breath, Lenalee straightened up, smiling as she watched the Order hurl food at each other in good fun.

_I think this is exactly what we needed_, she thought. The Order had been under a lot of stress since the Level 4 attack. Spirits were low after realizing how powerful the Earl's army of akuma was, not including the entire Noah clan they had to defeat. But now, looking at various meals go soaring by, she could hardly recognize the previously war-torn and battle-scarred Black Order. She waved a hello to Lavi and Allen who were running up to her, flapping some white napkins above their heads.

"Time out, time out! We're surrendering!" the red-head panted as he and Allen reached her side relatively unscathed. Lenalee had to stifle a giggle as she greeted her friends.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Lavi pointed dramatically at Kanda.

"I'll tell you what's wrong! An entire pot of spaghetti dumped on your head by a vengeful samurai man is what's wrong! Now I have to go clean my uniform before it starts to smell or else Gramps is going to murder me. What you witnessed was a completely unfair retaliation to _one_ slice of lasagna."

"And I didn't even do anything!" moaned Allen, picking out a strand of pasta which had slid past his ear.

"You guys should have known that everything is fair in war, right Kanda?" Lenalee said wisely, glancing back towards the quiet man. He grunted in response.

"Well if everything is fair," Lavi said ominously, crouching down to collect bits of food off the ground, "then this must be fair too!" he cried, swiftly leaping into the air and pelting Kanda with his edible ammo.

"Bring it on, you stupid rabbit!" Kanda quipped, drawing Mugen to the ready. Allen and Lenalee backed off together, amusedly observing the brewing duel, standing in comfortable silence before Lenalee said,

"I think everyone's having a wonderful time. Even Kanda." Allen nodded in agreement. He turned to her to respond, but the words faded on his lips as he unabashedly admired how beautifully the lights illuminated her profile. Her hair was growing longer now, he noticed with a smile, just barely brushing by her shoulders.

"What's so funny?" she had turned to face him, setting those bottomless, soulful eyes on his own. He blushed.

"Oh, nothing, you just… make me happy when you're happy," he replied quickly. At his words, Lenalee glowed, a smile blooming on her face that Allen believed could have lit up the world. And then, in that one beautiful moment, he heard it:

_Neah, my dear Musician, it is time! We're paying a little visit to Headquarters, so please go to the Science Department to destroy those pesky sensors and golems. We wouldn't want the Innocence users to be warned now, do we?_

Suddenly, the lively and bright mess hall didn't feel as blissful to him anymore as a heavy pit of ice formed in his stomach.

_Don't you think it's about time this war should end?_

"Allen, are you alright?" Blinking, Allen realized that his face was probably not wearing a very pleasant expression. Lenalee had gripped him by the shoulders, staring at him with concern. He vaguely noticed that her fingers were warm, still dazed by the news. Contorting his facial figures into something that he hoped was a reassuring look, he said hurriedly,

"Oh, uh, yeah! I'm fine, but I'm, uh, going to use the restroom. Please excuse me!" With that, Allen darted into the crowd and vanished.

_That was strange_, Lenalee thought. She thought about following to make sure he was all right, but her train of thought was crudely interrupted by a bun which had taken the liberty to molest her face.

"Lenalee! You've been hanging around on the sidelines long enough! We need you to come in here and get covered in chocolate or pudding-" Lavi began to choke on the carrot that Kanda quickly shoved into his mouth like a dog with a bone. Lenalee smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes, as she reached down to scoop up a handful of the spaghetti that Lavi and Allen had cleaned off themselves.

"Hold him still, Kanda. I don't think that Lavi has _quite_ enough pasta on his body right now…" Lavi let out a muffled yelp and found his flee blocked by the very imposing dark-haired man. Lenalee began to approach the junior Bookman thrashing in Kanda's grip, smiling wickedly and clutching the now-cold noodles in her hands.

And then it came.

The black gate appeared, so suddenly, and the carnage began. The screams of laughter began to mutate into terrified screams of pain and death. Kanda, Lavi, and Lenalee whipped around in time to see the Earl of Millennium emerge from his Arc. From behind him, swarms of Level 4 akuma were flying out into the gathering and instantly firing into the crowd. Many finders and other members of the Order had already crumbled into the thick dust that followed the pentacle rash that was erupting on countless others.

Then the Noah began to arrive. One by one, they stepped out of the Arc and stood next to the Earl, except for Road who floated above on Lero.

"Hello, Exorcists! So sorry to interrupt your little childish game, but I think it's time to put an end to all this nonsense." The Earl's sickeningly sweet voice rose above the death and clamor. "Perhaps if you would like to call out for your loved ones, like the Science Department, I could arrange a little meeting?"

Lenalee stood paralyzed with shock. What was happening? She was watching her family fall to pieces around her, when one minute ago they were alive and having fun. Without warning, a hand pulled her backwards and behind a wall. Instincts kicking in, she activated her Innocence and whirled around to confront her attacker. It was Lavi. He peered around the corner only to quickly snap his head back to avoid a couple of bullets that brushed by the wall.

"Shit, shit, shit! There's nothing we can do. We're massively outnumbered," the red-head muttered. Another form ducked behind the wall – Kanda.

"Giving up already, you rabbit?" he said. Lavi paused before turning to face him with a sad smile.

"Of course not, you pretty-boy. Let's go. This will be one hell of a final battle. And Lenalee," he continued, "go find your brother. You heard what he said, the Science Department needs you. Kanda and I will take care of things here."

Lenalee almost couldn't bring herself to speak. She felt like if she let her words out the tears would come too.

"Okay. But… but when you're finished up here… I'll wait for you there, okay? S-so don't take too long!" she responded in a half-whisper, her voice quivering. Everything was falling apart. Lavi smiled, and then pulled her in for a hug. She felt his breath ghost by her ear as he murmured,

"If you're in any trouble, promise me you'll run. Use your Boots and run if there's too many. Promise me." Lenalee could only nod in response and closed her eyes, feeling the warm wetness of her tears on her eyelashes. "Good girl. Let's go, Kanda."

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><p>The journey down to the Science Division was quiet. Using her Dark Boots to maneuver through the halls, she arrived at the elevator: broken. Lenalee felt her heart drop at the implication, before propelling herself down. The sight that greeted her was horrifying.<p>

Everyone was gone. Bodies lay everywhere, strewn across the floor and over equipment. Heart thudding in her chest, she skittered about, looking for any sign of her brother before stumbling across _her_.

It was Hevlaska, wounded terribly. Lenalee would have guessed her dead if the Guardian of the Cube hadn't shifted her massive body in her direction, sensing the Dark Boots. Her words were faint,

"Lenalee… run."

"Hevlaska, don't move! Just lie still and maybe I can… I… I'll find help! Just wait here, I just need to get my brother and-"

"Listen to me, Lenalee. What do you notice about the bodies?" Hevlaska cut in, her voice getting weaker. Lenalee forced herself to look around through her sorrow.

"They were killed by… something sharp? It cut them?"

"The bodies haven't crumbled away; this was not the work of an akuma. Be careful, Lenalee, he moved too fast for me to see. You have to get out of here. _Run._"

And so she ran on, skirting around the bodies of her comrades, letting her gaze fall upon anything but their faces.

_No time to cry for them now, Lenalee,_ she told herself. _You have to get out and run, run then mourn, mourn and live to fight another day. Live for them, fight for them. _Despite herself, she felt the sting of tears prick at her eyes, threatening to overtake her vision. She desperately increased the power of her Dark Boots to go flying down the empty corridor. To be honest, she had no idea where to go. The entrance and exit to Headquarters had been sealed off at the beginning of the attack, and it was too risky to go back and see if the barrier had been lifted. Even worse, Hevlaska revealed that there was a Noah somewhere in the lower levels. She just knew she had to get away, far away, from the echoing screams of the people she had known as family.

Rounding yet another corner, she came to an abrupt halt as her heart leapt with hope. There, at the end of the hallway, stood an unmistakable figure, his back turned to her but his Innocence and silver hair clearly visible in the flickering lights of the failing electricity.

"Allen!" she heard herself cry. He turned at the sound of her voice, and then her heart plummeted. Time seemed to stop as she realized he was coated in blood. But… something was wrong. He was standing tall, not weak with pain or breathing heavily from any sort of exertion. How? The silence in the hall was deafening, as a slick droplet of blood fell from Allen's claw to the floor.

"…Lenalee," he said simply, taking a step towards her. As he shifted forward, Lenalee could now see the body he had been standing over. Her eyes widened – it was Reever, unmoving. Her legs buckled as she refocused her gaze on Allen, who was smiling softly, sadly. He always seemed to smile when she was around, as if he just couldn't help himself. There was a pause; neither knew what to say, before Lenalee spoke,

"Allen. You're bleeding," she whispered. Her stride shaking, she approached him carefully with her face downcast. She couldn't look at Reever's body. Right now, it was simply easier to just pretend like he wasn't there, to ignore Allen's actions and what they very obviously meant in terms on which side he was on. She stopped in front of him and reached into her satchel that she had taken from her room before her flight, pulling out a small towel and a few strips of cloth. She began to dab at his arm gingerly, cleaning up the blood that deep down she knew wasn't his. But to face the truth, she would break.

Allen stared at the woman that he shouldn't love as she fixed up his undamaged arm. He didn't have the strength to stop her. He never seemed to have the strength whenever she was near him. His legs would grow weak as she walked next to him chatting lightly during assignments, and his heart would flutter as she smiled _that_ smile, greeting him with a warm "welcome home" after a long mission. How did this small woman work her way into the feelings of a man who couldn't… shouldn't love her? Allen was called back to the present as he felt the sharp tug of Lenalee tying the "wound" shut.

"I'm so glad to see you're okay, Allen. I thought that maybe I was the only one left," she spoke softly, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice. She was always bad at hiding her emotions. Allen laughed weakly.

"Sorry to worry you." There was a heavy silence, and then:

"Allen, we need to get out of here. Can you… can you make a gate? The Noah are going to find us any minute and the exits are blocked." She turned her gaze on him finally. He had always loved her eyes, and as he returned her stare he almost crumbled and said yes. Almost. Instead, he pulled away, no longer able to meet her face. Was it shame, he wondered, or regret he was feeling?

"You know I can't leave, Lenalee. I can't leave the Noah." He felt her take a few steps back. He looked back up, only to catch the terrified expression on Chinese girl's face. "They're my family." And he let his disguise fall.

Lenalee could only watch in horror as Allen's skin flushed to ash, as those silver eyes that comforted her during troubled times melted into gold.

"I… I don't understand. You're an exorcist! We fought together, and protected each other!" she heard herself whisper, her voice rising in anxiety. "And it turns out, you're one of them? You killed Reever. You betrayed us. You betrayed me. Did we mean nothing to you?" Her words were sharp, cutting into Allen. He couldn't help but cringe inside.

"I can explain if you would just come with me. I have to get you out of here."

"Why? What's the point?" she croaked. "My home is gone. My world is destroyed. My family…" She couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. She fell silent, breathing raggedly, hair obscuring her eyes. Allen wanted to reach out, to tell her that it was going to be all right, like he would before.

And he did. As his hand made contact with her shoulder, she leapt backwards as if a live wire had touched her skin. Her eyes blazed with frightened tears and a cold, righteous anger, but she said nothing. She activated her Innocence and took a stance.

"Lenalee, I don't want to fight you. Come with me and –" Allen had no time to finish his sentence – he was too busy backpedaling and blocking Lenalee's leg with his sword.

"Lenalee, wait!" But she was already leaping high into the air readying another attack. Arching into the sky like an eagle, she took a breath to steady her quaking hands. In that peak of the leap, where everything is motionless just before the descent, Lenalee briefly wondered if her brother would greet her with a welcome home when she passes through the pearly gates. _He would probably cry_, _and then attack Lavi who would come and scare me with a hug from behind._ A single tear fell unbidden as her eyes crinkled with the hint of a smile. _Kanda wouldn't say anything at all, of course, but that's just how he is. I wonder how they're doing._

And then she fell.


	2. Hope

Allen swiftly moved out of the way, letting the floor take the force of Lenalee's attack. The reinforced concrete beneath her boots cracked, letting out a snap like lightning through the deserted hall. Allen shielded his eyes from the shockwave that followed, only to quickly duck beneath Lenalee's foot before it caught his face. His eyes narrowed in frustration as he activated his Innocence, using the flat side of his broadsword to halt another attack. Lenalee merely used this as a surface to quickly leap above Allen, spinning into a drop kick. But the Musician had already moved out of her range, standing at the other end of the hall. Eyes glittering, Lenalee shifted out of her attack and landed lightly on her feet, catlike. Neither side moved as dust traveled softly to the floor. It was only until Lenalee, wavering on her feet, finally leaned against the wall for support before Allen spoke, taking a cautious step forward.

"Lenalee, please. Let me help you. I can take you inside my Arc, not the Earl's, and you can be safe there. I know that saving you won't excuse any of my actions-"

"Do you remember?" she cut in, staring at the ground. "Do you remember that night when your eye was hurting, and I came looking for you because of that dream I had?" She smiled wistfully, continuing on. "I told you that my world consisted of my friends and family, people that I cared about. Even if you did help me, what would there be left for me, now that everyone is… gone?" She pushed herself off the wall and staggered forward, sinking into her fighting stance yet again. She was about to propel herself forward before a voice behind her purred,

"So you're one of the last ones, little girl?" Lenalee's eyes widened in surprise and she let out a small gasp of breath before a charcoal hand closed around her neck and slammed her into the stone wall. As the dust cleared, she looked up at the newcomer, gritting her teeth and grimacing in pain. If the wavy black hair wasn't enough of a giveaway, the burning cigarette dangling from a loose smile could only mean one person.

"Tyki, put her down." Lenalee could hear Allen's voice from behind the third disciple of the Noah.

"Oh, come on, boy," his yellow eyes flitted to the side, mocking. "You can't have all the fun to yourself. Oh, I know! Why don't we let the whole family have their own chance to play with her, and then you can have the _pleasure_," his voice drawled on the word, "of finishing her off." Tyki's hands tightened around her throat and Lenalee couldn't help letting out a squeak of pain as her vision began to swim. And then, as suddenly as the pressure increased, it was gone, leaving Lenalee to slide to the ground while desperately gulping in precious air.

Allen had grabbed Tyki's arm with his left hand, twisting it backward. There was a cold, hard gleam in his golden eyes.

"I told you to put her down," he spoke in a clipped tone. Tyki snarled and pulled his arm back, massaging his wrist.

"What happened to you, Neah? Did this silly waif of a girl manage to tame you?" the Noah hissed, eyes narrowed. "Besides, I'm here under orders from the Earl. Any Exorcists that have survived up to this point are to be taken on the Arc after, of course, destroying their Innocence. We're all waiting for you at the gate." With that, Tyki eyed Lenalee who was still on the floor one last time before melting back into the wall. Allen watched him go, silent. Then with a sigh, he slid down next to Lenalee, closing his eyes as he let his head rest against the wall. Lenalee looked back at him through the strands of hair that fell over her face. He looked so… vulnerable. _Don't be silly, Lenalee,_ she admonished herself, _this "vulnerable" man just butchered the entire Science Wing, any Exorcists that weren't in the mess hall, and Hevlaska singlehandedly without even going into his Noah form. He's as vulnerable as sleeping dragon. _With a start, she suddenly realized she was staring into his eyes. He had turned to face her and found her deep purple eyes already gazing into his own. Embarrassed, she quickly twisted away, missing the brief albeit sad smile that passed by his lips.

"Ready to go?" he asked, getting back to his feet and extending a hand. Lenalee pointedly refused to use the proffered hand and used the wall for support. Allen's smile faded instantly, replaced by a look of pain before he turned around and mumbled, "Let's go."

The walk back to the Arc was, for the most part, uneventful. The footfalls of the pair were the only sounds that echoed in the path back up as Lenalee trailed behind the silver-haired Noah. Running was pointless.

She would have been lying if she said she wasn't scared. Yet, when Allen looked back at her and asked if she was all right, she felt herself jerking her head in a stiff nod.

"It's okay to be scared. I'm going to figure something out," he said in what he hoped was a comforting tone. Lenalee stopped.

"What are you saying? Why do you try and help me when minutes ago you killed the people I love. You… how dare you. How dare you!" Her hands were curled into tight fists, shaking. "Why?"

Allen said nothing. He had also stopped, staring at her.

"Why?" she whispered one more time. She was trying to hold back the tears, to be strong for those who couldn't anymore, but it was so _hard_. Her biggest fear had finally come to fruition: she was alone.

Allen couldn't take his eyes off Lenalee. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was absolutely disheveled. Her bloodshot eyes accentuated the glower she was shooting him, and her clothes were a mess.

She was the most beautiful thing he had set his eyes on.

Walking up to her, he gently placed his hands on either side of her face, trying to ignore her flinch as his fingers made contact with her skin. She was trembling.

Lenalee's breath stopped in her throat as a wave of familiar calm washed over her body. If she closed her eyes, it almost felt like the old days when Allen was simply Allen and not Neah, not the Fourteenth, not the Musician. She remembered the last time he held her like this. It was right before she was pulled into the Arc, beneath the bridge under the night sky. Even then it was the same, this feeling of being safe, of everything going right in the world. She shut her eyes even tighter, trying to will her body back to that time. Everything was simpler then; there were Akuma and Noah, and there were Exorcists. Black and white. She was afraid of this grey in-between that she was now caught in thanks to Allen.

"Because," she heard him say, "you are special." Lenalee's eyes widened in surprise, but he had already let go of her and continued walking down the hall. "Come on, they're waiting for us," he continued.

Her hand brushed her cheek, which was still warm from the contact. She stood for a moment longer, as if trying to comprehend what had just happened, before following Allen's retreating back.


	3. Reunion

**Hi guys! Sorry for the wait. I just wanted to thank all of my reviewers for keeping me inspired!**

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><p>"Stay close to me, and hold your breath until we clear the fumes."<p>

They were standing outside of the double doors that led into the mess hall. A cold silence had replaced the sounds of battle and death that Lenalee remembered leaving behind only an hour before. Her eyes traveled from the eerie quiet doors to the man in front of her. The air around him seemed electrified with tension, his shoulders so stiff and straight that she was sure if she landed a direct hit on him with her Dark Boots he wouldn't budge. Allen splayed his fingers of his left hand on the doors, took a breath as if to steady himself, and then stepped through the threshold with Lenalee trailing close behind.

Going through the double doors was like entering a freezer. Lenalee was sure that she would have been able to see her breath ghost about her face if the room hadn't already been filled with a thick, corrosive gas rising from a layer of what appeared to be silt on the ground. With a shocking jolt, she realized that the ashy covering was the remains of her friends who had been killed by the pentacle rash – a gift from the Level 4s. Her hand flew to her mouth, stopping the sick that threatened to overwhelm her. She felt something wet land on her fingers and she realized that she had begun crying.

"Lenalee? We should keep moving," she heard Allen say tersely as he moved to place a comforting hand on her back. But Lenalee twisted away just out of reach. She couldn't bear the physical contact, let alone from the man that doomed them all. She hardly noticed Allen's hand lingering outstretched in the air.

They began to walk again, treading carefully over the black smoking sand. The gas was so dense that she could barely see a few feet in front of her and so thick that it muffled the pair's footsteps. Chairs and tables splattered with food emerged out of the heavy fog, quiet ghosts that reminded Lenalee of how her life had been just before the attack. The further they moved into the mess hall the quicker her heart raced.

Up ahead, it appeared the gas was clearing. A horrible feeling washed over her as she could almost make out two blood-red numbers floating near the ceiling ahead. Then, the arc came into view, along with the winners of the war.

Lenalee's eyes first recognized the fat, bulbous body of the Earl. He stood at the front, the other Noah standing in a line behind him with the exception of Road, who hovered above, riding a clearly indignant umbrella, which was punctuating its reprimands with huffy "Lero!"s. Lenalee gritted her teeth at the sight of his incessant smile.

"Ah, welcome back, my dear Musician. I see you've caught another one to add to the pile," the Earl's sickeningly sweet voice cut its way through the fog as he nudged a pile of rags at his feet.

A pile of rags that let out a groan and shied away from his touch.

A pile of rags with red and black hair.

"Lavi! Kanda!" The names tore themselves from Lenalee's throat as she bolted out from behind Allen who lunged desperately to pull her back, but she was too fast and danced nimbly out from between his fingers. Her feet barely touched the ground as she flew to a sliding halt on her knees, directly in front of the barely conscious pair.

"Lena…Lenalee… what's up? Jeez, you look awful," wheezed Lavi as he squinted at her with his swollen eye. Kanda simply grunted but lay motionless. It seemed that moving was a task too difficult for him at the moment. The girl let out a short, wet laugh, genuinely smiling through her tears of joy. If they were alive, then there was still a chance. Hope was still alive. All of her determination and strength desperately clung to the lives of her friends. She would protect them. She would be strong. She would–

A light touch on her shoulder shook her out from her thoughts. Silhouetted by the lights overhead, Tyki had moved behind her, his hand tightening into a painful claw-like grip. He stared down at her, catlike. Her heart stilled as she heard him murmur,

"I want this one."

"Now, now, Tyki-pet," the Earl chuckled. "It's only fair that Neah gets to keep his spoils, isn't that right?" Allen shifted uncomfortably in his place but didn't object. The Noah of Pleasure sighed, releasing his hold on Lenalee who moved to cradle her shoulder, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Well, if that's the case, I get Mr. Moody. That's no fun," Tyki whined, stuffing his hands into his pockets and sauntering back to his position by the Earl.

…_Spoils?_ Lenalee's brow furrowed. Is that all they were? Toys?

"Now you've got it, woman," a voice drifted in lazily. It was Wisely. "What are we supposed to do for a year while we wait?"

"Wait for what?"

Wisely smiled knowingly, but turned away, having lost interest. Even more troubled now, Lenalee looked back down at Lavi and Kanda, brushing a loose strand of dark hair from the latter's face. They looked so peaceful asleep. Meanwhile, Allen had joined the other Noah, moving rather stiffly. He kept turning back, shooting quick glances at the three exorcists. The Earl gave the mess hall one more look-over, as if satisfied with his work, before retreating back to the Arc.

"Come now, children. We must prepare for the next stage."

And one by one, the Noah filed into the inky blackness that was the gate of the Arc. Lenalee suddenly felt herself standing up. Panic flooded her system, followed by confusion as Lavi and Kanda followed in her stead, their eyes still closed and heads bobbing loosely. She tried to call their names, but found that her mouth wouldn't listen to her thoughts.

"Don't act so surprised, woman," Wisely. "Now hurry along." And like sheep following a shepherd, the three exorcists found themselves stepping into black oblivion.

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><p>The tinkling of a melody sang softly through the air, full of melancholy and futility. It rose from the white grand piano like smoke, dissipating slowly into the room of white walls. The Musician played away, pouring his thoughts and emotions into the music. He could tell his music anything and everything, and it would always be there to listen. But… but now, listening wasn't enough.<p>

_What's wrong with me? I'm a Noah, right? Right?_ The melody picked up pace, jarring chords slipping in between the cracks that began to form in the music. _Then why– _his ash fingers slammed on the inverted chords– _why do I feel– _his elegant song was now nothing but a memory–

"WHY DO I FEEL LIKE I LOST?" Fists pounded the keys, an angry horrible sound screeching from the instrument. The silence that followed was only punctuated by his ragged, heavy breathing. "Why," he whispered, eyes staring at nothing, "does everything feel so wrong?" He slumped in his seat, head down on the piano keys, hands covering his head. He sat there, motionless, even when he heard the barely perceptible creak of the door to the room opening.

"Neah? I figured you would be in here." Her bare feet padded quietly on the pearly floor as the waifish figure of Road quietly sidled up to him on the bench, enfolding her arms around him in a hug and leaning her head on his shoulder. He didn't move.

"The Earl is worried about you," she murmured. "I looked for you all over the Arc before I realized you probably were in the white Arc. You always did like this one more." No response. Road frowned.

"That was a pretty interesting song you were playing," she ventured. Still nothing. Sighing, she shifted and wrapped her arms around her legs, tucking her chin onto her knees. The two of them sat like this in silence before Road finally spoke again,

"Anyway, the Earl is calling for a meeting in about two hours. I think he's going to talk about Stage Two and some other stuff… I wasn't really paying attention…" Her words trailed off as her eyes snuck a peek Allen stayed silent.

"Fine! If you want to just sit here and pout and sulk like a girl, be my guest!" With a huff, Road stood up dramatically and made her way to the door.

"Remember! Two hours!" She slammed the door behind her. Just outside, she slumped to the floor and rested her head on the wall, closing her eyes.

"Neah… what's happening to you?"

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><p>Lenalee felt that she should have been more scared, what with being locked in a dark room in the middle of the Arc with no way out and all, but she was glad Kanda and Lavi were with her, even though they weren't conscious. The Noah had taken Lavi's hammer and Kanda's Mugen, but when they realized that her Boots had evolved into the crystal type, they merely wrapped her legs in seals to prevent her activation. Sighing into the blackness, she picked at the seals. It was like trying to peel iron.<p>

The room that seemed to be their current home was empty, or at least she hoped. She would rather not think of the possibility that there was something in the room other than herself and her two friends. There was only one window, and from what she could tell it was nighttime. A shuffling to her right alerted her to Kanda who had awoken from his stupor and was now propping himself up with his arms. He was barely visible in the darkness, the only light touching his body coming from the miniscule window on the ceiling.

"Where…?" he began, sounding as if he hadn't spoken in ages. Lenalee quickly scooted over and helped him into a seated position.

"We're in the Arc right now," she began, looking him over for any glaring injuries she could deal with for the hundredth time. He was in much better shape than Lavi, who did not have the dark haired samurai's impressive healing ability.

"And the others?" His question was met with silence. Lenalee bowed her head. She was about to speak when a second rustling noise sounded beside her, followed by a dazed moan.

"Someone… turn on the lights," Lavi grunted as he less-than-gracefully rolled into his stomach, pushing himself up into what could almost be called an upright position. "Where are we?"

Lenalee repeated herself and also checked the redhead for any wounds she might have missed. His cuts had stopped bleeding, but the large lump on his head filled the girl with unease.

"Do you feel all right, Lavi?"

"Oh yeah, I feel perfectly fine after getting the snot beaten out of me by butt loads of Level 4 Akuma and the Noah Clan. Peachy keen." Catching the look on Lenalee's face, he started and continued, "But if you're talking about my head I'm okay. I know what a concussion feels like." Lenalee let her shoulders relax, but they tightened up considerably when Lavi's voice echoed through the room.

"Where's everyone else? Where did Allen go?" She could feel the two staring at her, but she couldn't bring herself to face them.

"We're… we're the only ones left of the Black Order now." She hated the way her voice trembled as she spoke.

"…even Gramps?" Lavi's voice was much weaker now. "But, what about Allen? No way would he let himself get killed by the Noah."

"Allen is dead," Lenalee heard herself snap quickly, as if the longer she waited the harder it would be say. There was a stunned silence in the darkness, and then:

"What? As much as the stupid bean sprout annoyed me, I find it hard that this situation killed him," Kanda spoke impatiently.

"I mean, the Allen we know is dead. He's with the Noah now." It was as if saying it out loud confirmed what had happened was actually real. Her walls were starting to break – she could feel herself slipping over some invisible precipice, struggling to keep herself grounded. _Remember, you still have Lavi and Kanda. They are here with you now, even if _he_ isn't._ She took a deep, stabilizing breath, and finally looked up to catch her friends' eyes. Kanda looked stunned. Lavi just looked confused.

"Wait a minute, I don't understand. So he's out there fighting them right now or something?" Lenalee half-wondered if Lavi was faking this misunderstanding to cope with the gravity of their condition. He was a Bookman, after all.

"Don't be a moron, stupid rabbit. She means Allen is the enemy now," Kanda said in a dark voice. He looked downright furious, the thin light casting his face in shadow save for his glinting eyes. "Did you catch his real name?"

Oh. His Noah name. Lenalee frowned, trying to remember. Her mind felt thick and fuzzy. Too many things were happening at once.

"Um, I think it was–"

"Neah."

The trio whirled around to the direction of the voice and Lenalee heard Lavi curse under his breath. When had the door opened?

The Noah of Dreams stood in the doorway. She stood there languidly as her eyes drifted from each of the three exorcists. As they passed over Lavi, her face broke out into a grin.

"I remember you, _Bookman_," she said gleefully. "Oh, you were _so_ much fun to play with the last time we met." Lavi only scowled, his hand twitching over where his hammer would have been. But finally, Road's eyes flickered over to Lenalee. The Chinese exorcist almost fell back from the malicious intensity in the Noah's gaze.

"You. I need you."


	4. Separation

**Sorry about the relatively short chapter, I've been a little busy but I wanted to put this out there for you all as soon as possible! Again, words cannot express how much I appreciate my reviewers and readers! Your support is my lifeblood. **

**If any of you want to throw suggestions at me on where to go with this story or what you would like to see, feel free to PM me or leave a review! If I like your idea I'll try to work it in.**

**And also I want to pledge my love to mia826. She's only just the best most wonderful beta reader ****ever****. No biggie.**

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><p>Road took one step into the room, her foot silent on the ground. There was a whirl of movement and Lenalee felt herself being pushed backward. Shaking with the effort, Lavi and Kanda moved in front of her, shielding her with their bodies.<p>

"No freaking way," grunted Lavi as he lowered himself into a ready stance. "If you want her you'll have to go through us first." Kanda simply glared at the blue haired girl. Road stopped, looking at the duo, her face carrying a bemused expression. Her lips twitched.

Suddenly, she threw her head back, body quaking with harsh, wild laughter. As quickly as the eruption of crazed glee came, it was gone, replaced by a serious, unreadable expression.

"You would really throw your lives away trying to fight me? With no weapons and in your condition? Don't be so foolish." Her voice trembled with a sort of dark excitement. She continued to amble into the room, stopping just a breath away from the two defiant exorcists. Her smile contained all the innocence of a child, with only her shimmering golden eyes that hinted at the monster within.

Lavi shifted back slightly. Kanda didn't move.

"You people," her voice was barely a whisper, "are so _annoyingly_ amusing." Lenalee watched in horror as Road delicately lifted a hand, reaching for Lavi's face.

"Wait." Lenalee wasn't even sure if she spoke out loud. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion – Lavi's eyes widening in surprise, Kanda's lunge – too slow – towards Road's outstretched arm, the horribly wild smile melting onto Road's face.

"_Wait!_" The plea exploded out of her this time as she scrambled to her feet, yanking Lavi back by the scruff of his neck. He let out a shocked yelp as he hit the floor hard. Road froze, her fingers now millimeters from Lenalee's flushed face. Her grin shifted into a satisfied smirk.

"What do you think you're doing, Lenalee?" hissed Kanda angrily, his frustration clearly evident on his usually emotionless face. Road curled her thin, cold fingers around Lenalee's wrist and dragged her towards the door, ignoring the others as one would ignore the lowliest of beings. Looking back at them, Lenalee gave her friends what she hoped was a comforting expression.

"I can't lose you guys. I'll be okay, I promise."

Road tossed a haphazard glance back towards the dumbfounded redhead on the floor and smirked. The door closed behind her, leaving Kanda and Lavi in stunned silence. Now that the warm and kind aura of Lenalee was gone, it seemed that not even the light from the moon through the window could penetrate the inky gloom.

Lavi sank back onto the floor for a moment, as if paralyzed, before leaping back to his feet and hurling himself at the door.

"HEY!" Lavi began kicking the door with all his strength and pummeling it with agonizingly clenched fists, ignoring the sharp stinging that rocketed through his body. Lenalee was out there, and he was in here. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HER! GIVE HER BACK!" He could feel the skin on his palm splitting under the force of his strikes, and he didn't care.

It was happening again. He _couldn't_ let it happen again. His thoughts flashed back to a painfully clear image that his Bookman memory retained with unsurprising clarity. He and Lenalee were in the hospital wing, and neither of them had their Innocence. There was screaming and an alarm and then… _he _came.

Leverier.

He had come for her, bringing a nauseating sense of dread and fear. And yet, she moved with purpose, with a carefully placed mask of strength. She went with him willingly, sparing one last look for Lavi.

_I stopped running away, back then… I stopped running, and I became an Exorcist._

That's what she'd told him. That's when he saw that look in her eyes, that quiet, scared determination - just like the eyes he saw disappear from his sight only seconds before.

But this time the door wasn't open for him to follow; this time he could do nothing. And he _hated_ it.

"Lavi!" Kanda snatched the Bookman's hand before he could continue pounding on the door, pulling it back until a sharp pain sparked in his shoulder. "The only thing you are going to break if you keep doing that is your hand. Stop." Lavi jerked his hand back.

"So what? We're just going to let them take her away?" He snapped angrily, cradling his bloody fist to his chest.

"Tch. Of course not, you dumbass," Kanda scoffed moving back to the wall and sitting down. "We're going to practice something called patience. When the Noah come back, what are you going to do? Bleed on them? Your injuries will heal faster if you sleep."

Lavi gritted his teeth, but followed Kanda to the wall and slid down beside him. Kanda was right, of course. Until the Noah opened the door again, they were stuck.

And seeing as he had nothing better to do…

Lavi grinned.

"Hey, _Yu_. It totally sounded like you were worried about my health. I didn't even know you had a nice side–"

"Shut up."

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><p>Lenalee found herself stumbling over her feet as she struggled to keep pace with Road, who refused to let go of her wrist. They had been weaving throughout various corridors and passageways, crossing shadowy bridges over murky streams, dipping in and out of various dark alleys, but to Lenalee it all looked the same. The black Ark suited its color.<p>

The white Ark had been beautiful; although she was loathe to admit that she admired any architecture crafted by her sworn enemy, there was a quiet splendor in the perpetual blue sky buffered by cotton clouds. There was even life, present in the flocks of birds that circled the sky. But here, in this desolate black wasteland, it was as if the night sky itself was trying to destroy what fragile hope the three Exorcists still had.

She vaguely noted that she could see no stars. _How lonely_, she found herself thinking.

Lenalee was shaken out of her reverie when she slammed into Road, who had come to an abrupt stop. The petite Noah didn't even budge. Instead, she turned around, letting go of her prisoner's wrist to place her hands on her hips. The two had stopped outside – _was it always going to be this cold?_ – in front of a rather large featureless door.

Confused and edgy, Lenalee forced herself to stand still in case any extra movements would set off Road like a small bomb. The pixie-haired girl appeared to be just as motionless, her narrowed eyes being the only thing moving, scanning over Lenalee's body like there was something that she just couldn't see.

"I don't get it," Road finally huffed, sounding almost frustrated. "What is it about _you_?" The Exorcist shifted on her feet nervously. What was she talking about?

Road heaved an exasperated sigh and crammed her hands into pockets that Lenalee didn't know could exist on a skirt, withdrawing a large key – _her _key – and tossing it to Lenalee, who barely caught it with the tips of her fingers.

"Anyway, you'd better not lose it, because I wouldn't mind making you my little doll again," the Noah of Dreams spoke with a casual air, as if they were discussing the weather. "And you only get about an hour or so for now, because then he's got to go to a meeting and you aren't invited. So just wait in there like a good pet and he'll be back when it's over." She turned to leave.

"W-wait! Where will this key take me? Who are you talking about? What about my friends?" The questions kept slipping off Lenalee's tongue. Road gazed amusedly at the babbling girl.

"You're going to your master, silly. The Earl entrusted me on bringing the toys to their owners, so I'm moving them one by one. I can't wait until I can play with that Bookman again. Wasn't that _fun_?" Obviously she and Lenalee had different definitions of the word.

Remembering that horrible moment, when she was helpless to watch Lavi losing his mind to Road, Lenalee's eyes hardened and her jaw tightened before she turned around to face the door, afraid of what she might say if she let Road provoke her even more. She heard one last giggle behind her before the Noah was gone.

Alone now, Lenalee released the breath she didn't know she was holding and stepped up to the massive, smooth, black door. There was no doorknob, just a keyhole. She briefly wished it wasn't so cold – _that's why her legs are trembling, there's no other reason of course_ – and slid the key into the lock.

As soon as metal made contact with metal, Lenalee thought that the paint had begun to melt from the door, revealing an intense shimmering white that almost seemed to glow. But it wasn't paint; the charcoal door itself was changing, shifting fluidly into a door with a color that seemed so out of place in the joyless air.

_So it leads to the white Ark_. Somehow she wasn't too surprised. Still gripping the key, she made to turn it and open the door, but something inside her hesitated.

Truth be told, she was happier that she would be leaving the suffocating atmosphere of her current surroundings, but that would mean she was leaving Kanda and Lavi behind as well. And that was unacceptable. _I'll come back for you guys. I promise, _she swore silently.

And yet, she still felt herself staring at the key in the lock, unable to make herself turn the key and open the door to see _him_ inside.

Suddenly, the door clicked and lurched inward. Lenalee let out a squeak of shock and stumbled backwards, landing hard on her back.

_Oh my god_.

And there he was, all yellow eyes and granite skin, staring down at her bewilderedly, standing stock still. Lenalee wasn't sure if he was breathing. She didn't know if she was breathing as well, but if she wasn't, she was _absolutely sure_ that it was her fall and not his presence that took her breath away.

"Lenalee?"


	5. Calm

**Oh goodness, I am so sorry this chapter is probably going to be a little bit terrible and a little short. I've been suffering through some writer's block right now, so I had to just push past the awfulness. The next chapter will pick up with more action!**

**I'm also wondering if people would be interested in a companion piece that documents Allen's time with the Order while he's pretending to be an Exorcist. It would probably just be various oneshots of small adventures and situations Allen finds himself in, and would probably end with just before the Earl's ambush at the beginning of this story.**

**Once more, I love you my readers and reviewers! Thank you so much for your support, you beautiful people you.**

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><p>Allen's heart leapt into his throat at the sight of her and suddenly he felt like a child again. She seemed so out of place on the black floor, a fragile butterfly, and he wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms and hold her close and put that brilliant smile back on her face.<p>

But he didn't.

Instead, he slipped into his gentleman mode, a costume that felt so much like a second skin to him, reaching down for her hand and hoping that she would let him help her up.

But she wouldn't.

She unsteadily got back on her feet, pointedly avoiding his burning gaze. The silence was palpable. Allen nervously cleared his throat.

"You should come inside. It's much warmer in there than it is out here."

Lenalee allowed herself a brief nod before she stepped past him and into the bright white. It was the piano room, she noted. The last time she had been in here, she was overwhelmed with happiness; the Earl had lost, her friends were safe, _Allen_ was safe. But now she just felt empty. Empty and tired. She couldn't remember the last time she slept. She felt Allen place a hand very, _very_ carefully on her back, as if she were a skittish animal, guiding her to the small couch in the corner.

"Lay down," she heard him whisper. And she obliged, surprising herself. It was if all of the events of the past day finally had their effect on her, plunging her deep in an ocean of exhaustion. Trying and failing to fight her closing eyes, she drifted off into a long-needed sleep.

Allen stood above her, looking down at her slumbering body, trying to calm his racing heart. He knew Road had sent her here. The door to his room had turned black, showing rather obviously that she had used her key again. And on Lenalee's wrist… his eyes narrowed. He was not pleased at all by the angry red marks left behind by Road's inhumanly strong grip.

He knelt down to softly take her wrist into his hand to examine it closely when he caught sight of his own skin. Juxtaposed by his Lenalee's milky skin, his grey skin... his fingers hovered just above her wrist before he let his hand fall to his side. How could he touch her? Instead, he retrieved a blanket from beneath the couch and covered her before retrieving Road's key from the door, which shifted back into the pristine whiteness it had been earlier.

_How did it come to this?_ The question kept flitting through the 14th's mind as he now sat motionless on the piano bench, _trying_ not to let his eyes wander to the sleeping figure who had him wrapped around her finger.

_How could it have come to this?_ It had only been two years since he accepted the undercover mission to the Order. And yet, in those two years… he never thought it would hurt like this…

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><p>"<em>Remember, Neah my child, your mission is one of reconnaissance. Become their friend, make them trust you, and make them care for you. That way when we do lead our final attack, you can destroy them from the inside."<em>

"_Yeah, I understand. But what if my Innocence doesn't trick their gatekeeper? What if he senses I'm actually a Noah?"_

_The two were standing outside a sheet of intense white light. The number 07 glowed brightly in a cheery red. The Earl chuckled, glasses glinting dangerously. "If it fails to do that, what good is that filthy Innocence anyway? Now run along. We'll be in touch so you won't get too homesick, my child."_

_The Earl tapped Neah forward with his umbrella, which squawked an indignant "Lero!" The Musician paused just outside the threshold, let out a small sigh, and stepped through…_

…_finding himself nearly greeting a massive stone wall with his face. At least, that's what he thought it was until the newly christened Allen peered upward._

"_Oh no."_

_It wasn't a wall. It was a cliff._

_. . ._

Of course the Black Order would keep their Headquarters on a cliff_, __Allen thought bitterly as his hand found another rocky outcropping.__When the Earl said that the Ark would be dropping him off somewhat nearby,__he obviously only measured the distance horizontally, not__vertically. Scaling a massive stone mountain definitely was not high__on Allen's list of fantastic ways to start off the day._

_Clutching his bag in his teeth, he grimaced as the stones beneath one__of his feet crumbled away. The fall would be very unpleasant if he were to lose his grip, to say the least. Luckily for him, he had finally reached the top after his three hour trek and__heaved himself up, lying on the precipice for a minute to catch his__breath, staring at the sky. Under the open expanse of blue and white, a strange sort of peace and excitement overcame him. How long had it been since he was out on his own? Granted he was on a mission, but who said he couldn't make it fun?_

_Holding his hands into the sky in an effort to shield his face from the sun, he curiously studied his now pale-peach skin. It had been a while since he had seen this color rather than his usual smoky grey. He had to admit he rather liked it._

_Once his arms stopped having the consistency of overcooked__noodles, he got back on his feet and faced the large, menacing black__castle that was to be his temporary home now. He couldn't help the small excited smile that graced his lips. He could be anyone he wanted to be, with a new life and a new name, and he was going to make sure he would enjoy it._

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><p>Blinking, Allen shook the memory out of his head, cradling his head in his hands. That's how it had started, a new adventure full of promise and possibilities. And now?<p>

A soft sigh from the couch prompted another glance in its direction. His expression softened as his eyes came to rest on Lenalee's face, her hair a chaotic, messy frame. She was still asleep, and probably would be for a long time, he guessed. He still didn't know what he was going to say to her when she woke up. Would she even speak to him? He had always known what to say to have his way, or to subtly push the conversation in the direction he wanted, but when it came to Lenalee, he always found himself speechless. It was always her – but she would just smile at his flustered behavior before striking up conversation. Despite his strength, she could always make him weak at the knees.

Well, sitting around and dwelling in his thoughts were not going to get him anywhere. He was never one for idleness. What was it that Road had been talking about? A meeting? Right. He stood up and quietly made his way back to the door, using the key to return to the black Ark. The freezing air slithered into the room as he hesitated, sparing one last look behind him at his sleeping butterfly before closing the door firmly behind him.

He would get her flying once again.


	6. Pleasure and Dreams

**Hey guys! Hooray for a relatively quick update! Be proud, be very proud. Kanda and Lavi are finally getting some time in the spotlight! If it seems like any characters are acting, well, a little out of character, **_**please**_** let me know so I can improve!**

**Once again, I shower all my reviewers and supporters with much, much love.**

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><p>When Lavi awoke, he was instantly aware of two small details – one: his head didn't feel like multiple holes were being drilled into it, and two: it was snowing.<p>

_What?_

He cautiously pushed himself to his feet. Somehow he was outside, out of the Ark, and Kanda was nowhere in sight. It must have been snowing for a while now; the field that he was standing in already had a fine layer of the white fluff, which was getting thicker by the second. The wind had also begun to pick up, rustling the snow off the nearby trees into a light, icy cloud.

And it was deeply quiet.

"Hey!" Lavi called, not necessarily because he hoped someone would answer. He just needed something to shatter the silence, even if it was his own voice. "Anybody out there? Hello?" No response. Great.

The unease he felt in the pit of his stomach intensified. It wasn't the fact that he was alone in the middle of a snowy field – it was that he couldn't remember _how_ he got there. And Bookmen never forget. Had someone tampered with his memories? Could a Noah do that sort of thing? He scowled at the thought of someone probing around in his mind.

With his air whipping into his eyes now, he belatedly noticed that his bandanna was missing, although his eye patch was still in place. Well, standing around wasn't going to get much done. He started heading to the trees to find some sort of shelter before the mild wind evolved into a full-blown blizzard.

And maybe the walk would jog his memory.

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><p>When Kanda awoke, he was instantly aware of two small details – one: his new surroundings weren't as dark as his previous cell, and two: he was not alone.<p>

_Tch._

"I know you're there," said Kanda gruffly as he got back on his feet. The room he was now in also sported black floors and walls just like its predecessor, but a large chandelier adorned the ceiling, casting flickers of light on the walls, ultimately leaving large areas in shadow. From one of those shadows in the corner of the room drifted a long tendril of smoke. And then a low chuckle.

"My, my, maybe you won't be so boring after all, _Exorcist_." Yellow eyes flickered open and the Noah of Pleasure melted into the light, letting his cigarette fall to the floor, still smoldering. "I think I can have a lot of fun with your healing ability, don't you think?"

Kanda said nothing, motionless, instinctively committing his environment to memory like any seasoned warrior. There was a door just across the room, and he could only assume that it led outside – where exactly, he didn't know, but he was never one for fine details.

Tyke ambled forward lazily, running his fingers through his slicked back hair with a small dark smile. "How much would you guess that your body could take before it fails to fix itself? Shall we find out?"

Kanda shifted his weight forward slightly. His fingers twitched, as if they missed a familiar hilt. He knew that they hadn't destroyed Mugen yet – he would have known, would have felt that piercing jolt of emptiness if the Innocence had been destroyed.

"Hey," he started bluntly, "where is my sword?" Tyki frowned. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"Why would I tell you?" Tyki responded, before his lips curled at Kanda's impatient sigh.

"What are you, slow? I'm obviously going to get it back after I'm through with you," the Exorcist sniped, "I'll find it whether or not you tell me, but maybe I'll spare you some humiliation of being beaten if you speak."

Kanda's only warning was a snarl and a flash of furious eyes as Tyki vanished from sight. He had no time to react when he felt a hand curl around his throat and two fingers press against the side of his neck.

"You foolish, cocky creature. I don't think you quite understand the situation you're in." Tyki's words breathed just outside of Kanda's ear. The fingers pushed in deeper, the hand tightened. "I think my Tease would _love_ to give you a try. What do you recommend? The aorta? How about an eye?" The fingers brushed up to the side of Kanda's brow, resting lightly. Unfortunately for Tyki, he didn't sense the slow shifting of Kanda's foot as it moved just behind his own.

_Perfect_.

Without hesitation, Kanda ducked, using his foot to pull Tyki off balance before whirling around and launching himself upward to drive his palm into the unprotected jaw. Hard. He felt the pleasurable crack of the Noah's teeth slamming together as he began to fall back, but Kanda wasn't done yet. Continuing his spinning motion, he used his momentum to explode into a reverse kick, striking Tyki on the chest with the heel of his shoe. He hoped it broke a rib or two.

The force of his blow knocked Tyki far across the room, cracking the wall on impact. The Exorcist may have been swordless, but he was not helpless.

Without waiting for a chance for the Noah to recover from his surprise attack, Kanda bolted for the door, not bothering to close it behind him.

Closed doors really did nothing to stop a man who can move through walls at will.

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><p>The snow was falling heavily now, weighing down on Lavi's uniform with every passing second. How long had he been walking? He could have sworn he had been heading for the trees for the past fifteen minutes, and yet the tree-line seemed just as far away as it had been when he first woke up. To make matters worse, the steadily dropping temperature was slowly having its effect on the junior Bookman. His ears and nose had moved past the point of aching from the cold to simply not feeling the cold, or anything for that matter.<p>

"WHY IS NOTHING MAKING SENSE?" Lavi bellowed, doubled over in exhaustion. For a moment, only the howling wind was his response, before his frozen ears picked up a faint voice calling his name. His head snapped back up despite his complaining neck as he tried to peer through the sheets of snow. _Was that…?_ Someone was standing just outside the forest. Someone small. Actually, it looked rather like–

"OLD PANDA!" Lavi cheered. And it was – the older Bookman was standing just at the edge of the field, hands clasped together in his usual pose. With a new burst of energy, the redhead ran full tilt towards his mentor.

And still, neither he nor the trees ever seemed to get closer.

Frustrated, he yelled, "Gramps! How do I get to you?" In the distance, Lavi could see him gesturing and speaking, but the wind had picked up too much, halting any communication between the two Bookmen. _I'll just have to keep trying._

And then his heart stopped.

Body numb, he stood in a horrified stillness as he watched a small child-like grey figure emerge from the woods. He could make out the wings, he could see the halo, but this was no angel.

Time itself seemed to slow as Lavi felt himself scrambling to his feet again, mouth opened in a wordless cry.

Bookman appeared to not have noticed the Level 4 Akuma creeping up behind him, still trying to communicate with his apprentice.

"Gr-Gramps!" Lavi struggled out hoarsely. He had to get to him, he had to _save_ him, but he just couldn't. Get. _Closer._ "Turn around! TURN AROUND!" The Level 4 grinned, holding one finger to its lips and the other arm to the back of Bookman's head. A dense ball of light began to collect at its fingertips.

The world stopped in a blaze.

Bookman's dark eyes widened, his mouth forming a silent "Oh!" of surprise as he perched frozen in position.

Lavi couldn't breathe as he watched the pentacles blossom over his mentor's skin, he couldn't think as the expression on Bookman's face seemed to shift from confusion to sadness, as if the last thought running through his mind was the one that Lavi couldn't bear:

_Why didn't you save me?_

And then he was gone, his ashes carried away by the wind. Lavi fell to his knees.

He didn't even get to say goodbye.

When Lenalee had told him that Bookman was dead, he couldn't believe it. And here, here he had a chance to save him, to save the man who had been the only father figure in his life. And he failed.

The wind almost seemed to mock him, whispering his name over and over again, the world of white swirling into darkness.

_Lavi… _

_Lavi… _

_Lavi…_

"LAVI!"

A green eye snapped open to a black room and one very angry Kanda Yu, who had his hand raised as if the redhead was due for an imminent slap.

"You stupid rabbit, what are you doing just standing there? You're lucky that I found this room."

What _was_ he doing? Where was the snow, and the wind, and–

Lavi closed his eye once again, fatigue flooding through his body as realization hit him like a train.

It wasn't real. None of it had happened. He never remembered arriving at the field because he never went. Instead, memories of Road taking him away and locking him in her room filled the gaps in his memory. It had just been a dream, courtesy of the Noah of Dreams. That meant…

"Kanda… the old man's really gone, isn't he?" croaked Lavi as he moved to lean against the wall for support. Kanda, who had been tearing apart Road's room looking for anything that could hide a sword and hammer and finding nothing, angrily kicked the sofa he had been standing next to and fixed Lavi with a glare.

"Yes. What part of being the only ones left did you not understand?" He headed for the door now, smacking Lavi in the back of his head as he passed. Ignoring his yelp of surprise, he continued, "We should leave as quickly as possible to find Lenalee and our Innocence. I don't think a few broken ribs are going to stop that Noah, and who knows where that annoying blue-haired girl–"

"A few broken… _what?_" Lavi interjected. "Are you crazy? He's going to want you dead now!" He hurriedly climbed back to his feet to follow Kanda out the door, shaking his head in disbelief at the other Exorcist's next words:

"That's nice. The feeling is mutual."

* * *

><p>When Tyki awoke, he was instantly aware of two small details – one: his mouth was filled with blood, and two: he was very, <em>very<em> angry.

_I'm going to kill him._

He stood up, ignoring the screaming pain in his chest and stumbled to the door.

_Which way…?_

"Tyki? Everyone's waiting for you at the meeting. What are you doing?" It was Road, leaning just outside the door twirling Lero idly. She spoke with a child's air, seemingly oblivious to his limping gait and bloody mouth. But Tyki knew better, he could recognize that teasing, mischievous glint in her eyes anywhere.

"You know exactly what happened," he grumbled. "When I find him, he is dead. Forget about keeping them alive, I'll kill them all." He started down the hall, not caring if that wasn't the direction that insolent little Exorcist took. He was in no hurry. He was going to find him sooner or later.

But a gentle tugging at his wrist forced him to pause, looking back down at the petite Noah.

"Tyki," she smiled, although her words were laced with a dark warning, "the Earl is waiting. You can find him later." She paused, thoughtful. "You know, I haven't see you having this much fun in a while."

"_F-fun_? Does this look like _fun_ to you?" he spluttered, gesturing at his damaged face. But Road wasn't listening, skipping away from with him a lively tune dancing on her lips instead. Tyki took a calming breath despite the sharp pain. _Feels like two broken ribs and a fracture_, he mused, _I guess that meeting will give me enough time to heal, and afterwards…_

…_let the hunt begin._


	7. Dischord

**Hi guys! Sorry for the wait again, I'm still trudging through a helluva writer's block, and with final exams coming up I found it a little hard to focus while writing! Forgive the jumpiness. It is also 3 AM but I was all like "I gotta get this chapter up." True story.**

**I hope you enjoy! Once again, I love my reviewers and supporters, thank you so much for inspiring me to keep going!**

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><p>Allen was mildly relieved to find that he wasn't the last one to arrive at the meeting. The long table was mostly filled with various members of the Noah family and the Earl at the head. Trivial conversation filled the air. He noticed the twins messing around with the people beside them, Sheril moaning about how he didn't know where Road was, and Lulu Bell shooting adoring glances at the fat grinning man in spectacles.<p>

Why yes, his family hadn't changed a bit.

Allen was about to silently slink into a seat near the door when a commanding voice rose above the chatter:

"Neah, my child, I already have a place for you up here by my side," the Earl said. "We haven't had the pleasure of your company in so long." Allen quickly plastered a smile on his face as he felt his stomach drop ever so slightly. He had been hoping for a short meeting and a brief debriefing so he could go back and spend more time with Lenalee.

That is, if she wanted to see him.

No sooner then he pulled out the proffered chair from the table did the door burst open again, and accompanying a cheerful "I found him!" was Road, who skipped happily into the room. A scowling, limping Tyki trailed in after her.

Her eyes darted to Allen sitting at the front and suddenly the Musician found a pair of thin arms wrapping around his chest and a slight pressure on his shoulder – Road's chin.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come," she whispered. Allen let out a weak laugh as he tried to gently pull her off his body. He thought it best to not mention that he almost forgot. "I'm here, aren't I? Please sit down so the Earl can start," _And so I can get this over with_, he thought grimly.

Road let out an affirmative sound, nuzzled his neck one more time –_was she always this affectionate?_– and immediately seated herself in the chair next to him.

Now that everyone was present, the Earl clapped his hands together and the noise began to die down. "I am so glad to see my precious family all together once more. Although Skinn is no longer with us, he will surely return sometime in the future." Various members of the Noah family bowed their head in respectful remembrance.

"I have called you all here today to celebrate our triumph over those dreadful Exorcists! The war is over, and we may final proceed to Stage Two, where we can cleanse the Earth of the filth that it has accumulated over time…"

Allen's attention began to drift. He had heard this all before. As the Earl's voice faded from his mind, he thought of fire and blue skies and a pair of deep wine eyes.

* * *

><p>When Lenalee woke, she was alone. She blinked several times before sitting up, partially to adjust to the brightness of the room but also to clear her mind of the dream that accompanied her sleep. Actually, she realized, she could barely remember it now that she was awake. If she tried, she could recall flashes of snow and cloudy days and a pair of eyes, silver and gold, but nothing more.<p>

She got to her feet, silently cursing the seals on her buckling legs. A small part of her had hoped that Allen… no, _Neah_ would have removed them, but to her dismay they were still wrapped around her legs, as though mocking her. They had begun to make her legs ache.

Her old Dark Boots never felt this heavy.

Tottering over to the piano, she let her fingers brush the keys lightly. It seemed wrong to touch something so integral to the Noah, to her enemies. Here, right below her fingertips, was the instrument that controlled this Ark. A thought sparked across her thoughts.

_Could she…?_

She gingerly pressed down on one of the keys, listening to the clear ring that echoed through the room. Her heart fluttered in excitement as she took a seat on the bench, her fingers curved and wrists arched.

_If she could play that song, could she control the Ark? Wasn't that how _he _moved it?_

She had taken piano lessons before; she remembered the notes and finger positioning and posture, but it had been so long ago. To make matters worse, she had only heard Alle– …Neah's melody once before.

But she had to try. Her friends were counting on her. With a pang of worry, she wondered if Lavi and Kanda were doing all right.

Remembering her friends fueled the anxiety that had been building inside her since the trio's arrival on the Ark. There was no doubt that their time alive, as Exorcists and as playthings, was limited.

Her fingers stumbled on the keys at first as she ran through some warm up scales –it really had been a long time– but as her muscles began to remember exactly how hard to press down and how to dance between the notes, the scales moved from one to two and to three octaves. Before long, she found herself picking at the keys, humming what she could of the melody in her attempts to recreate it.

She was so absorbed in her work that she failed to notice the door behind her darken to obsidian black. She failed to hear it swing open and close softly behind the figure that had stepped into the room. She failed to detect the quiet footsteps that padded up behind her.

It was only when the figure slid next to her on the bench did she freeze, feeling as though her body had been filled with ice, her fingers with lead. Instantly, all the tension that had melted away while she played snapped back into her shoulders, her legs, her arms, and her back.

He wasn't looking at her, from what she could tell out of the corner of her eyes. He sat motionless, hands in his lap, head tilted down, hair messily covering his eyes.

For a moment, they sat like this in complete silence. Before, neither would have minded the quiet – it would have been a comfortable calm. But now, it was a thick, oppressive silence. Lenalee's arms began to tremble from being frozen in position. She wanted to move her hands to her lap, but she didn't. She didn't know what her movement would invite from her _host_.

He was the first to break the quietness. "Were you playing my song?" He murmured, finally turning to look at her. Lenalee couldn't meet his gaze, instead bowing her head slightly.

"No," she replied, almost wincing at how poor the lie was. "I was… bored. Sorry for messing with your stuff," she quickly added, finally moving her hands off the piano. There was another moment of silence as Allen paused, as if trying to figure out how to word his next question.

He would have been lying if he said Lenalee's evident lie didn't hurt him. Before this all happened, they had been close –_he wished they had been closer_– but now, it seemed like they were oceans apart, so far apart that she couldn't even tell him the truth when it was so embarrassingly obvious. His heart clenched painfully as she continued to look anywhere except at him.

"Would you… like to learn how to play it?" He tried and failed to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice. At his words, her head snapped up, wine meeting honey. For one precious moment in time, her face was an open book, the shock registering in her parted lips and widened eyes. This was the first time, Allen realized happily, that she dropped her guard since the invasion of the Order.

But as quickly as emotions shone, the curtain fell once again as distrust and caution flashed like warning signs in her eyes.

"…Yes," she said warily. _Does he know? He knows… right? Why would he willingly show me the melody?_ She turned back to the keys, unable to maintain eye contact any longer, moving her fingers into position once more. "I think I have the first part of the melody down, but I don't…" Her words died on her lips as she felt his arms encircle her from behind, his hands lightly covering her own.

He was close – too close. She could feel his body pressing up against her, she could feel his breath ghost by her neck, and he was so _warm_. Her heart remembered to beat again, and it pounded out a staccato rhythm.

"Follow my lead," he breathed, and ever so gently, he began to play.

Lenalee let the Noah guide her hands, her mind to busy trying to comprehend what was happening. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. His presence was overwhelming. She could feel his heart beating against her back as well as the low thrum as he started to hum along with the song. Her body began to relax in his arms, and she closed her eyes to let the sounds wash over her.

Allen took a moment to gaze at the petite girl in his arms. This was definitely where he belonged: embracing the one he loved. He could imagine no better place to be. It felt… she felt perfect. That's what she had always been to him: perfect.

His eyes flickered over her face, finally resting on her parted lips. They looked so _inviting_… Something dark and feral flashed behind his golden eyes as his arms tightened around her faintly. He was so close… all he had to do was lean down and claim her…

But he didn't, instead closing his eyes and letting out a quiet groan as he tried to calm himself down. She had always had this effect on him. She could always bring him to the brink of self-control, completely and unwittingly, but this was hardly the time and place for him to step off that precipice.

He breathed out a small sigh and played on.

Lenalee's world was filled with music. _His _music. The melody twisted around her, lulling her into a peace as she leaned back slightly, soaking up his warmth like the sun. His hands continued to dance along the piano, taking her own smaller, more delicate ones with them. His hands…

Lenalee looked down and the piano, catching sight of them.

His grey hands.

Instantly, an image of Allen standing over Reever's body, blood dripping down his claw, flashed unbidden just behind her eyes.

No… not Allen. This was Neah.

_What do you think you're doing, Lenalee?_

The Exorcist immediately yanked her hands out from under his, as if electrocuted, pulling them to her body as she ducked out from under his half-embrace. She stumbled away, placing several feet between herself and the piano. Allen stood frozen at the keyboard, looking baffled.

The music had stopped.

She was breathing heavily now, the only sound echoing throughout the room.

"Lenalee," Allen said softly, taking a step towards her. "What's wrong?" Lenalee skittered back at his advances – if he came any closer, she couldn't trust herself from falling back into his embrace. He was her weakness.

And she hated it.

So she did the only thing she could do.

Looking into his eyes, she caught the hurt and confusion and… something else shining through the golden depths. "Sorry," she whispered regretfully, not fully knowing why. "I need some air." And spinning on her heel, she pulled the door open and ran, desperately putting as much distance possible between them.

Before she would do something she would regret.


	8. Redemption

**Hello, my beautiful readers! I have some good news and some bad news. Let's start with the good! As an apology for such erratic updates and long waits between chapters, here is a longish one!**

**And the bad news: I've been sensing a decline of interest in this story, so I may be taking a hiatus to go through and refine the plot to make it more appealing to the readers! The falling review rates makes me feel like maybe there's something that I'm doing wrong, but I promise you that I shall come back better than ever! I would be so, so, so happy if those who feel unsatisfied with how the plot is moving along could private message me or leave a review with advice on how I can improve!**

**To those of you that have been with this story since the beginning, I love you so much. I promise that the hiatus won't be for long, and that once I come back I'll be updating more regularly!**

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><p>She kept running. No amount of the burning pain in the legs could stop her as she flew across the white Ark. Even away from Allen, the memory of his presence smothered her like a soft blanket, wrapping her in warmth and leaving her breathless.<p>

It seemed like all she could do was run. Lavi's and Hevlaska's words echoed through her mind as the pearly buildings around her whizzed past.

"_If you're in any trouble, promise me you'll run."_

She had been running her whole life. First running from the Order, and then running after her friends, and now running away from _him_.

Was this… was this really all she could do?

Finally slowing down, she stumbled into a clearing with a beautifully ornate fountain standing in the center. Birds circled high overhead. She collapsed onto its edge to greedily have a drink, splashing her face to snap her out of her own thoughts. The water's chaotic motions cast ripples on Lenalee's reflection as she stared down at her flushed face and tousled, windswept hair. Her eyes gazed back at her.

"I'm so jealous," she found herself whispering to her reflection, fingers lightly touching the surface of the water. "You don't have to think or make decisions. You just follow what I do, so you feel no regrets. But…" Lenalee withdrew her hand, gaze moving to the white stone instead. "Are you happy?"

Her reflection said nothing.

Lenalee smiled wistfully. "Can you call your life your own? You can't change the past or control your future. You feel no regrets, but can you feel joy? Maybe I am jealous of living with no regrets, but…" Her voice strengthened as she pushed herself to her feet. "I could never be you. I could never ignore injustices, and I could never stop fighting. I fight… for them." She could see the Order, Komui, Lavi, and Kanda just behind her eyes. And at the forefront, was the Allen of her memory. From _before_.

It was time to stop running, and time to start fighting back. But first…

Out. She had to get out. This whiteness was too bright and she could feel him in the air around her. This was his Ark after all. She found herself craving the black frigid air of the other Ark that would shock her senses and keep her on edge.

One by one, she began wrenching doors open only to find each of them leading into an infinite void. Her desperation soon turned into annoyance with every passing door. She had a suspicion that Allen could somehow see her and was controlling where all the doors she was opening were leading to.

After the twelfth door, her patience snapped. Including a part of her sanity. Looking back on it, it was a wonder how she kept so calm beforehand.

"I know you can hear me!" she yelled angrily, kicking the door to relieve some of her physical anxiety. "This isn't funny! You are so lucky that my Innocence is sealed, or else I would force you to let me out and I can promise you wouldn't enjoy it. _At all!_" And then, laughter filled the sky.

"I don't know, I might enjoy it," he said, his voice full of mirth. His amusement only added fuel to the fire and Lenalee's eyes narrowed dangerously. This was good. She could deal with anger – being angry made it possible for her to talk to that man without other emotions slipping in.

But anger wouldn't help her convince him to let her leave. That would require something of a different nature.

_Perhaps…_

"Allen Walker," she said in a low, controlled tone. The laughter stopped instantly, lending Lenalee some confidence. This could work. "Please let me out."

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, just a couple feet away, a white doorway materialized out of the air as Allen stepped through.

He stared at her with a serious, unreadable expression. At the sight of him, her bravado that she had worked up by the fountain buckled slightly. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Was he testing her?

"Let me go to the other Ark," she said again, although in a smaller tone.

"You called me 'Allen'," he stated, completely ignoring her request. There was something in his eyes that made Lenalee want to move out from under the weight of their intensity.

No, no more running.

Instead, she attacked his gaze with one of her own. She hoped it was full of the fire and defiance she had felt moments ago and not… well, whatever she was starting to feel. "Are you not Allen?" she ventured.

The Noah opened his mouth to retort before hesitating, a haunted, pained look invading his features.

And suddenly, it was like he changed. Not physically, if his grey skin and golden eyes were any indication, but it was as if one second ago, a Noah had been standing in front of her, and in the other it was simply…

_Allen_.

He sank to the floor with his head bowed, startling Lenalee who was torn between keeping a safe distance and getting closer to see what was wrong.

"What would you do," he whispered, "if I said that I don't know?" His words were etched raw with guilt and confusion. Glancing up at her, an empty smile pulled at his lips. "I used to be so sure. I was Neah, a Noah with Innocence, pretending to be an Exorcist to give inside information to the Earl. It was supposed to be easy. So what happened?"

For the first time, Lenalee noticed the dark circles under his eyes, the air of vulnerability emanating from him, and the pure sadness. It was hard to remember that the almost broken man in front of her was the same as the one who murdered the Science Division and betrayed the Order.

But seeing him, sitting on the hard, white ground so lost and confused… her heart broke for him. Before she knew it, Lenalee's legs pulled her to the floor just in front of him as her arms wrapped around his body tenderly, hands tracing gentle circles into his hunched back.

This was something Komui used to do for her when she was younger, her early and agonizing years at the Order. She wasn't sure what prompted her to comfort Allen; he was _supposed_ to be their enemy, and the persona she knew as Allen Walker was _supposed_ to be a farce. Deep down, though, she knew (hoped) that perhaps his time at the Order, with her and the other Exorcists, quite possibly changed something inside him.

Slowly, she felt his own arms pull her body closer to his, but at the moment Lenalee found herself not caring, giving in. He needed a rock to steady him, and right now she was willing.

Her brother had once said that her heart was too big, too compassionate, for this war. Maybe he had been right.

"I don't like that name – 'Neah'," he murmured into her neck finally. "It feels wrong." Lenalee gave a small, affirmative hum. Her calm ministrations on his back didn't miss a beat. She had to resist an urge to shiver as his breath ghosted down her spine when he continued. "Who am I? If I'm a Noah, why do I feel so awful about winning the war? If I'm an Exorcist…" Lenalee felt one of his arms pull away from her as he held his hand in front of his face. "…why do I look like this?"

For once in her life, Lenalee didn't know what to say. How could she? She had first assumed that he had been an Exorcist when she befriended his 'costume', Allen Walker. Then she thought of him as a Noah, a sworn enemy, after his betrayal. Good and bad. Black and white. But now the tendrils of grey, which were slowly creeping into and latching on her vision of the world, frightened her.

So she stayed silent.

Suddenly, she felt Allen grasping her forearms and pulling her back so she could see his face. His weary, guilt-laden eyes searched her own intently.

"Are you afraid of me?" Various emotions flickered through his honeyed irises – fear, sadness, and hope.

_Am I?_

She remembered dancing in the snow with him after a mission to Germany, learning how to cook together under the careful eye of Jeryy, and midnight escapades to the roof during clear nights to stargaze. She remembered laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes while watching his many spats with Kanda, him teaching her how to play poker (even though he never let her win – she didn't mind), and getting lost with him in the rain.

She remembered how her heart would flutter when he looked at her, and how she felt at peace when he genuinely smiled.

_Am I?_

She found herself leaning forward and brushing a couple of loose hairs out of his eyes, ignoring the stigmata that was revealed by her actions around his forehead, staring into those surprised, golden eyes of his, and whispering, "I'm not afraid."

The sun itself could not have been brighter than the smile that blossomed over his face. And it was infectious – she couldn't help returning his with one of her own. He stood up, pulling Lenalee to her feet; twirling her around him with her laughter piercing the bright blue sky, he drew her in for another embrace – this time it was one of joy, not sorrow.

Breathing in the scent of her hair, the smell of _her_, he said, "I don't think _what_ I am matters to me, as long as I'm with you. Like this."

"Well then, you'd better consider yourself an Exorcist," she replied quickly, feeling her blood rush to her cheeks.

"I am an Exorcist."

"Are you sure?"

"I am an Exorcist if you'll let me. I've… done some terrible things, haven't I?"

At these words, Lenalee stiffened. She had tried not to think about the family she had lost. _Mourning would come later_, she had told herself, _it would come after the Earl was defeated._

"…could you ever forgive me?" It sounded as though he asked even though he already knew the answer. They both knew.

"No." Her answer was quiet but firm. "But," she continued, "that doesn't mean that you can't redeem yourself. Help us fight him, Allen. Help us save the world."

And this time, he couldn't say no.

"I will. I have information to tell you about the Earl and Stage Two and–"

Lenalee cut in, pulling apart from Allen to pace in agitation, "Wait, we need to find Lavi and Kanda. After we get together again you can explain everything you know. Do you know where they might be? Lavi's with Road, isn't he? I hope she hasn't hurt him too much…"

"Actually, now that I think about it, Kanda may have already pulled something off," Allen said thoughtfully as he crossed his arms. "Tyki looked a little injured when he came to the meeting."

Lenalee sagged with relief. If Kanda managed to escape, the most logical thing for him to do would be to find Lavi, which meant that all she and Allen had to do was find the hiding Exorcists. And quickly.

Before the Noah did.

* * *

><p>There were certain ways with which Kanda liked to start his days off. Meditating was one of those things. Eating soba for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was another. He considered himself a simple man with simple pleasures living in a world full of morons.<p>

However, _this_ was not on that small list of things he liked to do. Not even close.

"I'm only going to say this one more time. Move. Back."

"Okay,_ Yu_, let me just magically make myself smaller so I can fit into this space. Oh, wait. I can't."

"I warned you, stupid rabbit."

"Wh-what are you… OW!"

"Shut up, you idiot! You're going to get us caught. Now, stay still and don't move."

Yes, being one inch away from Lavi's face while awkwardly sandwiched between him and the ceiling of a tiny crawlspace to hide from an approaching Noah most definitely was _not_ on his list of good ways to start the day.

They watched as a pair of heavy boots thumped past the crawlspace, waiting for a couple minutes before they quickly moved out of the tight and compact area. For once, Kanda was mildly thankful that they hadn't found their Innocence yet. He had a feeling that the Noah would have been able to sense the pair in hiding if they had gotten their weapons back.

"How come you got to be on top?" Lavi complained as he gracelessly attempted to brush some dirt off his back. "That floor was gross. You would think that being a relatively new mystical floating cube would mean that it was clean, but _nooo_."

"Your hair is too flamboyant," Kanda replied. ("Hey! Who're you calling flamboyant?") "They would have noticed it if I didn't use mine to cover yours up," he continued, ignoring the bookman's feigned hurt.

"Good thing your hair is so long and voluptuous, _Yu_," Lavi teased. "Looks like all that shampoo paid–"

"Do you like your tongue? Then stop talking or you won't have it anymore."

"You're so cold, Kanda, so cold."

They moved further down the hall, stopping to listen for any approaching footsteps every minute or so and keeping an eye out for any open rooms that they could search for their Innocence.

As they rounded a corner, they spotted an open door. The two Exorcists moved like shadows to either side of the doorway, having developed a routine of entering each room they found. Kanda flexed his hands before tightening them into fists as Lavi mouthed, "_Three, two, one…_"

On zero, they burst inside, adrenaline flooding their system as they quickly scanned the room for any unwanted guests. To Lavi's relief and Kanda's mild disappointment (his muscles felt like they were on fire – he would have welcomed beating an unsuspecting Noah to a pulp), the room was empty. Neither of them closed the door as they moved further inside – a closed door might be suspicious to passing Noah.

It was yet another bedroom. Swathed in darkness, it was difficult for Kanda and Lavi to navigate around the bed, table, and dressers to search for their weapons.

Lavi had stuck his head under the bed, his arm sweeping across the black floor, when two sudden and loud snapping sounds startled him. He jerked his head up, colliding with the bedframe and sending stars into his vision.

"Ouch," he whimpered, rubbing the back of his head as he sat back up on his haunches.

"Here," Kanda said, handing him a thick iron rod. A second one was tightly grasped in other hand. "We can use these as weapons until we find our Innocence." Looking back at the bed, Lavi noted that the now-vandalized footboard was missing two of its metal bars.

"Good idea, this is better than nothing. But I don't think our Innocence is…" the redhead's voice trailed off as two pairs of soft footfalls echoed down the hall outside. Did someone hear them? Did their jailers somehow figure out where they were?

Of course Lavi realized that the footsteps could have belonged to two Noah, like those twins that Krory fought in the white Ark, who just happened to be walking down the hall. But now, armed with the heavy metal rods, this was an opportunity for the two Exorcists to extract some information from their unsuspecting victims.

Kanda motioned to Lavi as they took their positions on either side of the doorway once more.

"_I'll take down the one closest to the door_," he whispered as his grip on his temporary weapon tensed. Lavi nodded, sinking lower into his legs.

Closer… closer…

_Now._

They exploded out of the door with their weapons hurtling towards their prey and lightning coursing through their veins.

It took Lavi less than a second for his eyes to process what he was seeing – _fair skin, long dark hair, a pair of deep purple eyes widened in surprise_… _oh crap_. He instantly stopped the path of the iron bar, which hovered dangerously close to his ex-target's face.

It took Kanda less than a second for his eye to process what he was seeing – _smoky skin, silvery white hair, a pair of bright golden eyes… that bastard_. He didn't hold back, didn't hesitate, throwing even more force behind his swing…

…which stopped before it ever made contact with his victim's face.

"See, Lenalee?" Allen chirped, his hand having snapped up to block the offending metal rod. "I told you we'd find them if we followed Kanda's trail of perpetual grumpiness."

"Kanda… Lavi!" Lenalee cried as happy tears overwhelmed her. She rushed forward, pulling the two of them into a close hug and nearly knocking them off balance. "I'm so happy you're all right," she sobbed into Lavi's jacket, her vice-like hold preventing even Kanda from squirming away from the emotional exchange.

"It's good to see you too," Lavi replied warmly with relief, stroking her head.

"Tch," was Kanda's only response, although his eyes softened. That is, until they snapped back up to glare at Allen who hovered behind the trio uncertainly. Lavi noticed too, looking up to stare at Allen's appearance. This was the first time they'd seen him in his Noah form.

There was nothing more that Kanda wanted to do than slice up the man standing before him. But, after seeing how quickly he had moved to block his attack, the swordsman knew that he didn't have a chance without his Innocence. And Lenalee didn't seem to be hurt or afraid of that Noah, so instead he opted for the other kind of attack he could use.

"It's sad to see that even in _that_ form you're still short, beansprout," he sniped coolly.

"The name's Allen!" Allen retorted loudly.

"And you still have hair like an old man? I thought all Noah had black hair, beansprout."

"My name's ALLEN, you idiot!"

Lenalee wanted to laugh, tears still pouring down her face. It was just like old times. She never knew how much she missed their little fights.

"Lenalee? Are you sure you're okay? What's going on?" She glanced up to see the bookman looking down at her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, now that we're all together again," she said, letting go of her two friends. "Allen has some information for us that might help us defeat the Earl."

At her words, she noticed the bickering stopped as Kanda and Lavi both turned to stare at her.

"Have you gone mad? How can you trust a Noah? We trusted him once and look where that got us!" Lavi exclaimed. Behind her, Allen shifted uncomfortably on his feet, mumbling "I'm an Exorcist" under his breath.

"I know, I know. But what other choice do we have?"

"Look, I'll explain everything," Allen interjected. "But let's go to my… the white Ark first. It'll be safer to talk there."


End file.
